We have been given a most unexpected gift. There was no reason to expect that this would ever be possible, but here it is. The entire planet has a moment to pause.

Fewer cars and trucks roll the roads.
Fewer trains and subways ride the rails.
Fewer planes and helicopters fly the the skies.
Fewer boats sail the the seas.
Fewer factories are running at full tilt, emitting sound, gas, liquid, and solid pollution.

The world is quieter.

Sound travels 4.5 times faster in water than in air. Right now, the whales probably feel like a decades-long throbbing, pounding headache has receded. A whale’s low frequency sounds can travel up to 16,093 kilometres. I wonder what they are singing at each other tonight?

Under ideal circumstances, an elephant’s vocalizations and foot stomps resonate at a frequency that other elephants can detect through the ground as infrasonic messages. During the nighttime temperature inversion, they have a calling reach of 300 square kilometres. What will they be chatting about tonight?

Birds can actually sense the earth’s magnetic field. As they fly above us, do the skies look different tonight?

If you are like me—like most of us—you have asked, either out loud or in the deepest recesses of your mind: please, could I just have a moment? A moment to breathe, to think, to not think, to cry, to laugh, to grieve, or to celebrate. Just one moment, please, I beg of you.

The world has never listened before. It marched onwards relentlessly. You told yourself that there wasn’t time to stop now, it would have to wait. There was too much going on. The kids need you. Your partner needs you. Your parents need you. Your work is counting on you. Your community needs your contribution.

You are right. They all need you, and you need them… but you need to take this incredible gift.

This silence, this moment, every moment, if it is genuinely inside you, brings what you need.
– Rumi
You have an opportunity to take a moment for yourself. You can close your eyes, and just breathe, enjoying the knowledge that for this moment, the world is not hurtling away without you.
  • Have you ever wanted to learn something new?
  • Have you ever wanted to create something?
  • Have you ever wanted more time with your loved ones?
  • Have you ever wanted to change how you interact with yourself, with others, or the world?

If you take advantage of this gift, you will have so much more to offer yourself and those around you. You have been given a chance to explore those possibilities. Reach out and take it.

Take the time that has been given you, the silence that has been given you, and spend it wisely. Do not waste this opportunity.